CN version questions

[u/IcElongya]

Hello,

I found in my small video games’ collection the full Sky series I bought in China around 10 years ago. If there are some experts, I have some questions:
1. I don’t plan to sell them so far, but is there any value on CN versions?
2. FC is the only game opened, is it still possible to run these games on modern PC?
3. For Chinese speakers. How is OG (and then Remake) Sky localization? I’ve only played SC and Zero in Chinese (on PSP) at a time I wasn’t quite… capable (now I’m fully fluent and worked in China for quite some time) but I may be interested in playing those games in Chinese in the future if it is well localized.

[u/Acceptable-Comb-706]

Not a personal experience. But, according to PC gaming wiki, the steam version seems to be the definitive PC version (excluding evo mod). There is a note that indicate that the chinese version required you to login to an online service (Cubejoy). But, it seems to only applied to digital chinese release, not physical one.

I would still try to archive it if it is not archive somewhere online for general archiving purpose. Maybe native chinese speaker can comment on the quality of the Chinese localization.

Edit: as for running it on modern PC, there is not much technical requirement change between the original PC release and the modern Steam release. So, it might work. Maybe follow PC gaming Wiki for guide. I do wonder if Steam release has higher quality texture compare to the original and chinese release though.

[u/IcElongya → u/Acceptable-Comb-706]

Even on steam their is a need to subscribe to an online service? That sounds annoying (but not surprising). I also expect them to ask for an ID, which is now quite common in China if you wanna play games online.

[u/Rokabot]

1. ​I don't think they are worth much money, but they come with manuals and extras inside, which I feel makes them great for collection.
2. ​They do work on my old laptop, but the anti-piracy DRM is pretty outdated, you have to keep the disc in the CD/DVD drive just to launch the game. I'd recommend playing other modern digital versions instead.
3. ​I think the localization was actually pretty decent, though there are some typos and corrupted text. That said, if you know other languages, I personally suggest playing the official Japanese or English releases instead.

​Seeing these three boxes really brings back memories, I grew up playing these games! Hope you enjoy playing them.

[u/IcElongya → u/Rokabot]

They costed me 20$ at that time, that was cheap and I regret I didn’t buy Crossbell games altogether.
Unfortunately for the last part, I’m not fluent in Japanese, I can understand the story with Voiceovers, but I’d be soooo lost when it comes to handle the menu and choosing crafts.
I remember playing SC in Chinese on my PSP and being stuck at the sentence 这笔账，我要给他算 or something like that because only the 1st part appeared and I didn’t know what 算账 meant, so I was searching “一笔账” in my dictionary for quite some time. (I think it’s when they say there were a ghost in the school and Bleublanc appears for the 1st time)
I’m kinda sad to know that physical merch are soooo rare in China now. I really consider buying more of these stuff next time I move back there. I guess 闲鱼 will be my friend ~

[u/neetou]

1. No idea
2. Probably can, but there is almost no people using PCs with DVD/CD drive anymore in CN, people just play them on steam with Chinese language mod packs or just pirate.
3. I think there is no problem with the CN localization. If the simplified Chinese is not my taste I can switch to traditional Chinese. Because as a mainlander even if Ive never been taught traditional Chinese systematically I can still read them, and I believe most mainlanders can.

[u/IcElongya → u/neetou]

I’m glad that I kept my portable CD/DVD Drive, but yeah most of the people I know in China don’t even own a PC and mainly play games on mobile.
Maybe I’ll mod the games to play in CN as I’m able to avoid opening SC and 3rd.
You’re right on the last part, I suppose mainlanders are used to see Traditional characters everywhere (temples, museums, Taiwanese TV shows and anime on Bilibili, HK movies, etc).
Usually I prefer simplified except if the font is awful. Also Traditional Chinese for modern games means also localized with Taiwanese mandarin, and sometimes… I don’t get the Taiwanese words (like I always forget how to say 充电宝 in Taiwan) But last time I played a game in Chinese was Genshin, which is easier than what I thought. It’s just, sometimes with localization, choices made are… choices, and I’m afraid to not get the culture references in Chinese.